Jan 29 Career Development Center hosts Wall Street 401: Discussions with alumni the first of many programs to help students prepare for their futures

In conjunction with the SkidMarket Club, the Career Development Center held a three-tiered event dubbed "Wall Street 401" on Friday, Jan. 25, which featured a panel of senior Wall St. alumni, two smaller breakout sessions and on-campus interviews for internships and full-time positions with JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and Morgan Stanley.

The panel discussion occurred on the second floor of the Murray-Aikins Dining Hall and featured Mr. JR McDermott '89, a managing director at Morgan Stanley, Mr. Dan Antonelli '89, a managing director at JP Morgan and Nate Berkoff '01, a senior vice president at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. Zack Vogel, professor of Management and Business, moderated the discussion.

Deborah Loffredo, director of the Career Development Center, acknowledged that the College's size poses a challenge to students as they search for jobs, as the College only receives a small portion of the company-initiated on-campus recruiting that larger schools enjoy.

To overcome this obstacle, the Career Development Center organizes multiple events that encourage student and alumni interaction. "The alumni love coming back to help," Loffredo said. "And we hope to bring this event back in the future."

The panelists gave advice to approximately 30 students, which ranged from highlighting the significance of a strong work ethic and early involvement with the Career Development Center to stressing the importance of networking and being a well rounded student.

The breakout sessions focused on applying creative thought principles to investing and on preparing for careers on Wall Street. Vogel led an open discussion on the subject of investing, while Berkoff gave a presentation for the latter session.

Friday's event was an extension of "Wall Street 101," which took place on Sept. 18. Although both had the same focus, "Wall Street 401" featured more senior alumni, while "Wall Street 101" was a stand-alone panel discussion and did not feature breakout sessions or coincide with on-campus interviews.

"Wall Street 401" follows the Jan. 18 networking event, "Transitions and Transformations," which was held in New York City and was organized by the Career Development Center. The event brought together seniors and alumni in the New York area in a bid to help seniors build networks that would be useful in future job hunts. Organizers also provided presentations on how to effectively market liberal arts degrees.

Loffredo said that this year the Career Development Center will focus on student involvement with career programs earlier in their college careers. This semester will see the launch of a peer career coaches program that seeks to assign upperclassmen career coaches to freshmen and sophomores.

Other events include a seminar on technology use for career development and personal branding on Jan. 30, and another seminar in February on job search strategy for international students.

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